HEALTH Minister Aaron Motsoaledi has appealed to all uncircumcised men to go to their nearest hospital to get circumcised.
Speaking in Parliament yesterday ahead of World Aids Day on December 1, Motsoaledi said all health facilities would be able to provide circumcision free of charge.
"We appeal to each and every male who is uncircumcised, please do get yourself circumcised," he said, adding that there was clear evidence that circumcision formed a part of preventing HIV.
The government also plans more "community-based interventions" that are already being used to combat HIV in KwaZulu-Natal.
Primary health care workers would work around the clock in every municipal ward in the country to convince people that condoms should be "consistently used with each sexual encounter", he added.
By June 2011, 13-million people had undergone voluntary HIV testing and more than eight million people had presented themselves to be screened for tuberculosis, he said.
By the end of March 2012, there would be more than two million people on antiretroviral treatment, up from the 1.4-million on treatment currently, Motsoaledi said.
Meanwhile, DA leader Helen Zille yesterday repeated her call for HIV-positive people who infected others to face criminal charges.
Zille first made the call last week, but yesterday released her statement again. She said people must take responsibility for stopping the spread of HIV by being faithful to their partners.
"People who are HIV-positive have a particular duty to disclose their status in situations where others could be at risk. If they don't, they must be prepared to face criminal charges," Zille said.
The ANC has asked how she plans to police sexual relations between individuals without bringing back an apartheid-style Immorality Act policing system.
The Treatment Action Campaign also slammed her statements, saying that criminalisation would only stigmatise HIV more, and "discourage people from getting tested and finding out their status".